Single handle bag construction



Oct. 3, 1967 s. KAMlNs ETAL 3,344,977

SINGLE HANDLE BAG CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 5, 1966 Iliff!!! iii. N

d IIIIIIII United States Patent O 3,344,977 SINGLE HANDLE BAGCONSTRUCTION Seymour Kamius, Oceanside, and Norman Rosenberg, Bayside,N.Y., assiguors to C-Thru Products, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporationof New York Filed Jan. 5, 1966, Ser. No. 518,873 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-54)ABSTRACT ou THE DISCLOSURE A synthetic resinous bag composed of two sidewall elements of synthetic resinous material heat sealed along the sideand bottom edges thereof, each including an integrally molded matingclosure disposed below the upper edges thereof, and a handle elementheat sealed to the inner surface of one of said wall elements.

This invention relates generally to the field of integral handlesynthetic resinous carrying bags, and more particularly to an improvedform thereof having many of the features of more expensively fabricatedbags of this type, but which may be produced at a substantially reducedcost,

In bags of the type disclosed, for example, in the La Guerre patent,Number 3,140,038, it is customary to fabricate the bag in a manner toinclude two sidewall elements of synthetic resinous material which areheatsealed along the side and bottom edges thereof. The upper edges areeach heat-sealed to one of a pair of relatively stiff synthetic resinoushandles. The handles in turn are provided with interconnecting meanswhereby the bag may be closed, and subsequently carried by grasping thehandle. When it is desired to remove the contents of the bag, thehandles are separated, thereby disengaging the interconnecting means andseparating the sidewall elements to afford access to the interior of thebag. This construction, while attractive, strong, and convenient to use,is relatively costly to make, since the handle elements are relativelystiff to provide means for supporting the sidewalls which are relativelythin gauge material. Thus, the bulk of the material is in the handleelements.

Where the loading of the bag during its ultimate use will be withrelatively lightweight material, and in which the stresses on theinterconnected seams of the bag will be correspondingly light, thenecessity of providing a pair of handles, each interconnected to onesidewall element of the bag is no longer present, although thedesirability of an element which provides sealing and carrying meansremains.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention toprovide an improved bag structure ernploying only a single handleelement as contrasted with prior art double handle constructions.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved bagconstruction incorporating a single handle for carrying, in which thesealing means is formed integrally with the sidewall elements thereof,whereby the presence of a second handle for sealing purposes isunnecessary.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improvedsynthetic resinous bag construction of the class described, in which thecost of fabrication may be of a relatively low order, as compared withexisting prior art devices, thereby permitting relatively wide sale,distribution and use.

A feature of the invention lies in the fact that the sealing andunsealing functions previously performed by interlocking the previouslypresent pair of handle elements 3,344,977 Patented Oct. 3, 1967 ICC areperformed quite as readily by the user without the necessity of manuallygrasping the handles.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends andadvantages, will more fully appear in the progress of the followingdisclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification,similar reference characters have been employed to designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE l is a view in perspective of an embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view as seen from the plane3-3 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a similar fragmentary enlarged sectional view, showingcertain of the component parts in altered relative position. Y

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated byreference character 9, comprises broadly: first and second sidewallelements 10 and 11, respectively, sealing means 12, and a single handleelement 13.

As is usual with constructions of this type, the first and secondsidewall elements are formed from relatively thin guage polyethylene,rubber hydrochloride, or similar heat-scalable materials. The firstelement 10 includes an upper free edge 15, side edges 16 and 17, a loweredge 18, an outer surface 19 and an inner surface 20 (see FIGURES 1 and3). The second sidewall element 11 is bounded by an inner surface 22, anouter surface 23, an upper free edge 24, a side edge 25 heat-sealed tothe side edge 16, a side edge 26 heat-sealed to the side edge 17, and alower edge 27 heat-sealed to the lower edge 18. As best seen in FIGURES3 and 4, it will be observed that the edge 24 is disposed substantiallyabove the edge 15 to facilitate mutual separation as seen in FIGURE 1,although it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which theinvention relates, that this provision is not essential to operation ofthe sealing means 12.

The sealing means 12, as best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4 is formedintegrally upon the sidewall elements 10 and 11, and positioned belowand parallel to the upper edges 15 and 24. The means 12 includes anelongated projection 29 on the inner surface 20. Referring to FIGURES land 2, the projection extends from a first end 30 at the side edge 16 toa second end 31 at the side edge 17. The sidewall element 11 includes acorresponding recess 31 co-extensive between the edges 25 and 26. Themeans 12 is interconnected by manual pressure exerted on the outersurfaces of the wall elements in well-known manner, the material fromwhich the wall elements being made possessing sufficient resiliency topermit adequate flexing during engagement, and the maintenance of thesame in engaged condition. As seen in FIGURE 4, when in interconnectedcondition, the wall elements 10 and 11 formed a sealed enclosure 33, aswell as a pair of unsealed portions 34 and 35 on the wall elements 10and 11, respectively.

The handle element 13 may be of a molded type resembling that disclosedin the above-mentioned Patent No. 3,140,038 with an absence ofinterlocking recesses and projections which are no longer required. Itincludes a handle forming loop member 38 as well as a transverselyextending base member 39 integrally molded therewith. The base member 39includes a pair of parallel surfaces 40 and 41, and a portion of theinner surface 23 is heat-sealed to the surface 39 in the area indicatedby reference character 42.

When the device 9 is carried, stresses caused by the load disposedwithin the enclosure 33 are transmitted to the sealing means 12, andthus along the unsealed portion 35 to the sealed area 42 and the handleelement 13. Since the interconnection at the upper portion of the wallelement is continuous between the side edges of each of the wallelements, and the distance between the sealing means and the base memberof the handle element is relatively short, no distortion as a result ofthe relatively light stresses encountered occurs, and the device may becarried exactly as in the case of doublehandled construction.

To open the device 9, manual pulling is exerted directly upon theunsealed portions 34 and 35 as shown in FIGURE l in the drawing,resulting in a parting of the sealing means 12 from the central partsthereof in a progressive manner.

It may thus be seen that by resorting to integral sealing means disposedbetween the wall elements of the device, the necessity of a secondhandle element having interconnecting means for joining with acorresponding rst handle element is completely eliminated, with a verysubstantial saving in materials, and a correspondingly lowered cost offabrication. Where relatively light loads are carried, the device issubstantially as durable as existing prior art devices, and is asconveniently used.

We wish it to be understood that we do not consider the inventionlimited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in thisspecication, `for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled inthe art to which the invention pertains.

We claim:

1. Synthetic resinous bag construction comprising: rst and secondsidewall elements, each of said sidewall elements having mutually sealedside and lower edges dening an enclosure, and having upper free edges;integrally molded from a single sheet sealing means said sealing meanscomprising a protuberance on one sidewall adapted to snap into analigned recess on the other sidewall and positioned along an axisparallel to and spaced below said upper edges to selectively seal saidenclosure, leaving portions of said first and second wall elementsunconnected above the sealing area; and handle means heat-sealed to theinner surface of one of said lastmentioned portions in the area disposedabove said molded sealing means a continuously extending integrallymolded portion of the sidewall not having the handle attached theretobeing provided and being adapted to be grasped manually for unsealingthe bag.

2. Structure as dened in claim 1 in which said upper edges of said rstand second sidewall elements are in spaced parallel relation when saidsealing means is in interconnected relation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,666,466 1/1954 Sharat 150-32,746,502 5/1956 Graell 150-3 2,789,609 5/1957 Post 150-3 2,878,8493/1959 Lingenfelter et al. 150-3 FOREIGN PATENTS 998,967 7/ 1965 GreatBritain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner.

Patent No. 3,344,977 October 3, 1967 Seymour Kamns et al.

d that error appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certifieLetters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and that the Saidcorrected below.

line l, after "edges;" insert sealing means Column 4,

line 11,

line Z, for "sheet sealing means" read sheet, after "molded sealingmeans" insert a semicolon.

Signed and sealed this 4th day of March 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

1. SYNTHETIC RESINOUS BAG CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING: FIRST AND SECONDSIDEWALL ELEMENTS, EACH OF SAID SIDEWALL ELEMENTS HAVING MUTUALLY SEALEDSIDE AND LOWER EDGES DEFINING AN ENCLOSURE, AND HAVING UPPER FREE EDGES;INTEGRALLY MOLDED FROM A SINGLE SHEET SEALING MEANS SAID SEALING MEANSCOMPRISING A PROTUBERANCE ON ONE SIDEWALL ADAPTED TO SNAP INTO ANALIGNED RECESS ON THE OTHER SIDEWALL AND POSITIONED ALONG AN AXISPARALLEL TO AND SPACED BELOW SAID UPPER EDGES TO SELECTIVELY SEAL SAIDENCLOSURE, LEAVING PORTIONS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND WALL ELEMENTSUNCONNECTED ABOVE THE SEALING AREA; AND HANDLE MEANS HEAT-SEALED TO THEINNER SURFACE OF ONE OF SAID LASTMENTIONED PORTIONS IN THE AREA DISPOSEDABOVE SAID MOLDED SEALED MEANS A CONTINUOUSLY EXTENDING INTEGRALLYMOLDED PORTION OF THE SIDEWALL NOT HAVING THE HANDLE ATTACHED THERETOBEING PROVIDED AND BEING ADAPTED TO BE GRASPED MANUALLY FOR UNSEALINGTHE BAG.